Chicago Blackhawks: CBA salary cap likely means buyouts are comingon July 8, 2020 at 1:00 pm

According to Spotrac, the Blackhawks’ free agents will include the following players:

• Dominik Kubalik (RFA)
• Drake Caggiula (RFA)
• Dylan Strome (RFA)
• Slater Koekkoek (RFA)
• Corey Crawford (UFA)
• Malcolm Subban (RFA)

A quick refresher that restricted free agents can be signed to an offer sheet by another team, but the Blackhawks will have a chance to match or decline the offer. Offer sheets are rare in hockey, but if the Blackhawks elect to let that player walk, they can potentially receive draft pick compensation.

Dominik Kubalik

What an incredible rookie season for Kubalik. The 24-year-old is likely going to be a finalist for the Calder Trophy after scoring 30 goals with 16 assists for 46 points. He made just $925,000 last season, and he’ll likely see a sizeable contract extension with a $5M AAV. He’s that good, folks.

Drake Caggiula

Caggiula doesn’t light up the box score, but he does a lot of the little things right. Last year, he scored nine goals with six assists for 15 points, but he also missed a significant portion early in the year due to a concussion. He recently turned 26 years old and made $1.5M last season. In the offseason, Caggiula will likely fetch a contract at nearly $3M AAV.

Dylan Strome

Strome is going to be an interesting case this offseason. The emergence of Kirby Dach makes Strome expendable in the near future, so the Blackhawks shouldn’t break the bank to retain him. Still, the 23-year-old scored 12 goals with 26 assists for 38 points while finding a home on the second line alongside Patrick Kane and Alex Nylander.